Allegiant Reborn
by Zarmanelli
Summary: This story picks up right where Insurgent leaves off. It follows the surviving characters out of Chicago and into what is left of the world outside of the fence. "Allegiant Reborn" does not follow the storyline of "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth. I do not own any of the characters and obviously did not create the Divergent series. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Mass confusion. The video must have ended minutes ago but it feels like centuries.

At first I forget that my feet are firmly planted on the ground and feel as if I am drowning all over again, encased in a small glass room with nowhere to run. I am pulled from my haze as the first shots are fired.

"We need to run, Tris. Now!" Tobias shouts as he shields me.

Edith Prior. _Prior_. No matter how strong he is, Tobias cannot shield me from the pain of the last few days. He cannot shield me from the information the video just set loose into the Erudite headquarters, and he cannot shield me from the death that is weighing heavily on my shoulders.

But he knows this. So he shields me from what he can, which is currently the gunfire from the factionless.

I manage to look up at his face a moment before he scoops me up and takes off running into the crowd. He must have been screaming at me to move. Why can't I move? His jaw is set. He is focused and strong. In this moment, he is Four.

I lose Christina in the crowd. Where is Uriah? Evelyn? The thought of her sends anger coursing through my veins.

Evelyn.

"Tobias."

I am surprised at how weak my voice sounds against the shouting and gunfire. He doesn't hear me, but I can see that we are almost to one of the shattered windows of the headquarters.

I quickly scan the rest of the room and let out an involuntary whimper. There are bodies strewn across the floor, but many are faces that I do not recognize -until my gaze is stopped cold. I fight Tobias's grip and fall to the ground. He runs to my side to grab me, but halts when he sees the body I am crouched over.

Caleb.

I try to get his attention, to wake him up. I try not to cry. My brother. My murderer. No, my brother. The smart one. The good one.

I knew before I hit the ground that he was dead. I know that I don't have time to grieve another loss.

I am the last one standing in my family. The last Prior, and that is what breaks me. I hold my brothers torso and cry into his bloodstained vest. I am surrounded by cries of pain, and my sobs are absorbed into the sounds of chaos.

Four jerks up at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Four, watch out!" Someone shouts over the turmoil. Zeke?

A sudden pain overtakes me and I scream. I hear Tobias's voice trying to coax me to keep my eyes open, but I welcome the darkness. He lifts me up over his shoulder, as tenderly as he possibly can under the circumstances, and we are still moving when I drift off from reality.

I regain consciousness in a dark alley. I have no idea how much time has passed. Hushed but urgent whispers echo off of the crumbling walls. "Tris! Good, you're awake. I'll get Four. We thought we lost you there. The bullet just grazed you though. Lucky." It was Uriah. Of course it was him. He is the _only_ person who could use the word "lucky" under these circumstances. He must have gotten out when his brother did.

"Where are we? What happened?" I look down at my arm. There is cloth tied around my upper right bicep, drenched in what I assume to be blood. I bite down hard on my lip to prevent even the smallest pained sound from escaping me. Tobias must be worried, so I need to be strong.

I listen closely into the dusk and can make out popping sounds in the distance. We must not be too far from Evelyn and her lackeys. Why have we stopped? I feel a sudden sense of urgency to escape the alley and try to stand. I am caught firmly by my uninjured arm by Tobias.

"Not so fast, Tris. You're in no condition to do anything at the moment."

Not quite the heartfelt realization that I am still alive that I expected, but I should have known not to expect that of Four. And in this moment, in the middle of a run for our lives, that is all he is. Four.

"After everything I have been through, I think I can manage to escape certain death with a bullet wound in me. In fact, I'm fairly certain I have already proven that!" I spit out at him. Uriah hushes me.

Four's expression hardens, but only for a moment so that I almost miss it. He speaks directly to Zeke. "She's been through a lot today. We all have."

"We need to get going." I say sternly to the others. Four gives me one slight nod and tilts his head down the alley. We gather together quickly and I see that there are five of us: Zeke, Uriah, Cara, Four, and me. Christina is nowhere in sight. Before I can say anything, we take off running. I expect the worst. It is not until a few minutes later that I realize I have no idea where we are escaping to.


	2. Chapter 2

The only sounds I hear are the five of us breathing and our footsteps slamming into the concrete as we continue our run outward. I try to convince myself that the silence is a good thing, but what if the gunfire stopped because there was nobody left to shoot? I shrug off the thought and replace it with something that grounds me. Pain. All of my muscles ache, from the tops of my arms to the pads of my feet. The bullet wound in the back of my shoulder, along with the graze on my arm, blend into the burning of my muscles. I should be uncomfortable and spent, but the stinging makes me feel awake. The burning makes me feel alive.

I was close to death just hours ago, inches from it. I need to focus. My mind can't wander like this.

We have spent our time navigating alleyways and getting as far from Erudite headquarters as possible. We haven't had time to discuss any plans for survival, but I get the feeling that this discussion was had when I was passed out. Zeke, Cara, Uriah, and Tobias are moving with a sense of purpose. I am out of the loop and hating every second of it, but there is no time to fill me in. Not yet. If Tobias had a part in this plan, I can trust it for now.

A few more minutes pass until the guilt overtakes me. "Christina. What happened to her?" I manage to break the silence. The words come out staggered between my gasping breaths as we run down another dark gangway.

At first I think that the others are ignoring me, that they are afraid to deliver the bad news. It feels as if my stomach is doing back flips, preparing to heighten the body count. Zeke's step falters and I could swear I saw him wipe away a tear. We slow down to a jog and Cara speaks first.

"She was with us in the beginning. We found her by an exit, but she couldn't run. Her leg..."

I swallow hard, fighting back tears.

"I couldn't either if I remember correctly." I say as cold as ice.

Zeke's turn.

"She told us to leave her. She told us that she'd go out like a Dauntless-"

"But-Christina-might-still-be-alive!" Uriah interrupts Zeke and blurts out the words I have been waiting to hear. I jolt at the word "alive" and grab Uriah's arm. We all stop moving for a moment.

"Explain." I manage to mutter in my exhaustion and relief.

"Peter." My blood ran cold as Tobias uttered his name. No matter the small deeds Peter had done to save me, he was still more enemy than friend.

Uriah elaborated. "Cara and I were trying to coax Christina into leaving with us one last time before we were forced to make a run for it after the three of you. Peter showed up out of nowhere and threw Christina over his shoulder. She kicked him hard in the side of the head, but he started for the exit anyway."

Cara now. "We lost them a few blocks from the headquarters. There were others with us too. Some innocent Candor and Dauntless...Shauna... We were being tailed. The Factionless had all the weapons. We couldn't afford to stop..."

Shauna. They left her. First Christina and now this. I glance at Zeke and he's biting his lip, hard.

Cowards.

I have nothing to say to any of them. They left them behind. They left _Christina_ behind, and _with Peter_.

"We have to go back..We have to find her...We have to..." I stop wasting my breath. We are too far from wherever they were last seen now to risk turning around. I swallow bile and give myself five seconds of weakness. _Five._ I should have been awake. I could have done something. _Four_. Peter better be taking care of Christina or else he's dead. _Three_. Unless he already is dead. Christina might be dead too. _Two_. Christina, I'm sorry. _One._

"Where to now?" I need to focus on being filled in on the plan while we are stopped.

Tobias looks at me with a worried expression, trying to tread carefully. "We're leaving, Tris. Getting out of the city."

There was a time when that statement would have alarmed me. There was a time where I never even considered there being anything in this world except the people within these chain-linked walls. I now see them as restricting, as a prison more than a safety net.

Edith Prior. If there was still even the slightest chance of finding the truth out about my mother, about my family, it was far, far away from here.

"I figured." What choice do we have? We were leaving our city behind, just like we left Christina, wounded in the middle of a war.

Tobias continues, "Cara has a small gadget with her that can cut wire with a laser. We just need to get to an area of the fence that isn't utilized as often. We can't go toward Amity. That would be too expected."

Cara picks up as soon as Tobias finishes talking. "When you woke up in that alley we were just finishing up our raid of some old Factionless buildings. We found a few cans of food, but nothing that can hold us over for too long. We'll have to hope that there is something out there for us after all."

I look over my shoulder and see that we are far south of the Hub, which is now just the smallest glimmering shape against the night sky. It would blend perfectly into the darkness if it weren't for the light of the moon.


	3. Chapter 3

The air is getting cooler and we are all exhausted. Our will is strong but our bodies are weakening with every step. We keep on running regardless of the pain.

We are Dauntless, after all. Well,_ most_ of us are.

_Not that that means anything anymore, _I remind myself.

I take a moment to actually look at the others and my stomach drops. I feel like it is the first time I have _actually seen them_ since the attack. I had been so focused on my own injuries that I failed to notice the wounds and bruises covering the others. Tobias has bloodstains all over his torso and thighs. Is that his blood? My blood? How could I have missed that? I am selfish. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

But I already knew that.

"We aren't far from the perimeter." Tobias stammers. He doesn't usually show weakness. He must be in worse condition than he let on. My brow furrows.

"We better be. Zeke here looks like he's about to throw up." Uriah quips. Zeke casts his brother an impatient glare and smacks the back of his head. I want to hit him too. He should take this more seriously. We're all in danger.

"There, up ahead!" Cara is the first of us to see the fence in the distance. We all seem to get a second wind and pick up the pace.

"Shouldn't we be careful? There might be guards here already." I add, causing Tobias to fall back and stop to my left. He speaks to the four of us.

"She's right. We should stick to the shadows until we have a clear line of sight to an escape route. Everybody keep quiet, I'll be just a few feet ahead. Follow my lead." He winks at me and puts a quick kiss on my forehead. A small gesture, but enough to hold me over.

We are so close to freedom, I can feel it in my bones. We slowly make our way around a gigantic ancient structure. I make out the phrase "ULLAR FIELD" across the top. I have never been this far south of the city before, and I take it that the others have not either. Tobias is familiar with the surveillance of the area due to his time in the control room, but being out on our own with a price on your head is quite a different story.

We are now a few hundred yards from the fence. Tobias gestures to Cara, and she quickly hands over a small metal tube, a little thicker than a marker. We stop at an alcove in the building.

"Stay put. I'll run and cut the hole for us to go through. When it's done, I'll signal for you to run."

This was it. Tobias was going out there unprotected. Fully exposed. I quickly scanned the surroundings for a tree, rubble, anything to provide him cover. I found no safety and held my breath. He will be fine. _He will be fine._

He leaves the shelter of the building and jogs toward the fence. I am still not breathing when he starts working.

"He'll be alright, Tris. There's no way anyone is out here yet." Uriah nudged my shoulder. At least his optimism can come in handy some of the time. I let the breath I was holding go and focus once again on Tobias and the laser.

"I didn't think it would take this long, Cara. Four has been at it for at least ten minutes." Zeke worried. Sometimes I forget that he is one of Tobias's only friends, that there are other people that worry about him like I do.

I know for a fact that Tobias forgets this as well. That, or he doesn't even see it to begin with. That is what people like Marcus will do to a person.

"_My apologies Zeke_," Cara spits out sarcastically, "That I don't have a better _POCKET LASER. _Where is _your_ fence-shredding-device hiding, hmmm?"

She exaggerates "Pocket Laser" slowly but sharply and raises her eyebrows.

Ouch. That was harsh. I've never seen an Erudite act so...so...

No. We are not separate factions anymore. I need to stop categorizing people. It is a habit that will be tough to break.

"Tell me how you really feel Cara." Zeke taunts. Cara is furious.

_"Knock it off."_ I don't raise my voice. I don't make a fist. The threat lies within my eyes and tone. They must have seen something in that glare, because the bickering ends and all eyes snap forward to Tobias.

"Come on Four..." Zeke quietly chants.

Not a second later, Tobias turns and gives us the signal to run.

"Let's get the f*ck out of here," Cara mutters before she takes off running ahead of us. Uriah, Zeke, and I share a surprised glance for a fraction of a second, and then are on her heels. We duck into the small opening in the fence and disappear into the unknown.


	4. Chapter 4

It's been two days since we escaped the city. Even Uriah isn't acting like his cheery self. We have limited food left and are relying on Cara's makeshift water purifier to keep us hydrated.

"I thought something would have happened by now. I don't even think anyone has been following us." Uriah whined.

Tobias spoke over his shoulder. "We might actually be on our own for once. I call that a good thing."

We've been walking for a few hours, stopping every once in a while to rest. I don't like it when we stop, because I see the faces of my family in the clouds. I hear their voices in the wind. I am holding onto hope that Christina is safe. Alive. My first ally.

"I mean, what happened after we left? Do you think anyone else got out?" Uriah continued. I was not use to seeing him so distraught. You could hear him struggling to keep his cheery tone. No one had an answer for him. We are hungry and exhausted.

Zeke interrupts my thoughts with an urgent whisper. "Get. Down."

We all drop to the floor and hear a familiar noise in the distance. An engine. Someone was coming in a car.

"Evelyn." Tobias clenches his jaw. His gut reaction to danger is still to curse his mother. I don't correct him. I don't have to, but Cara does.

"It can't be," Cara adds in a hushed tone, "The sound is coming from the opposite direction. Listen."

"Don't want to interrupt your brainstorm session or anything ladies and gents, but maybe we should hide a little better." It falls out of my mouth before I can think about it. I am on edge.

Looking around, we don't have much option for cover. The grass is a bit shorter than me, but it is sparse and there are five of us in dark clothing. I scan the horizon and I see an escape route not too far from us. When I snap up, I am able to feel Tobias' shock and worry the second I am in the air. A couple hundred yards ahead to the left is a ditch. They needed to move quickly. I needed to move quickly. The engine was getting louder and other than the ditch and a few scattered trees and debris, we were out in the open. I turned before I jumped into the hole and saw the glint of recognition in Tobias' eyes.

"Quickly. Go."

Cara made it into the ditch just in time before we heard an engine slowly approaching. The ditch was deeper than I anticipated and Cara fell on her ankle wrong. She was struggling to quiet her breathing and grunts. Uriah covered her mouth with his hand as we heard voices just above us. Two men. The car engine cut off.

"You saw that right?" It was the voice of a young man. The sound of it would have been soothing, like silk, if it weren't for the potential danger. He saw us. He saw us. Tobias slams his eyes shut tight, waiting to be found. I grab his hand and lean into his shoulder slowly. The tension in his muscles does not release, but he opens his eyes.

"This is ridiculous. It was probably a possum. Sector 2 has been compromised, Zander. You know what that means. We've got to move quickly. No time for games. " It was a deep, gravelly voice. The contrast made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. They way he spoke was cold and robotic. It reminded me of Jeanine. Frustrated grunts. Two doors slammed and the purr of the engine disappeared soon after.

We emerged from our hiding spot without any words. Night was falling again and we needed to find shelter quickly. Over the tall grass I spot a shed about a mile out. We start walking. "They were talking about the city. You guys know that right? They're headed straight into a war." Cara's voice almost sounded shaky. Almost.

"Or the aftermath of one." Zeke rarely spoke in the past couple days, but when he did it was far from positive. We make it to the shack before dusk. Uriah has first watch and I drift off into a dreamless sleep.

I am shaken awake in the middle of the night by Tobias. I assume that it is my turn to take watch, but he hurriedly coaxes me into a standing position. He grabs my arm and we begin running. I don't ask questions. By the light of the moon I see two figures running away in the distance. The silhouettes of Zeke and Cara.

Zeke and Cara. _Just_ Zeke and Cara.

"Tobias, where's Uriah!?"

No answer, so I stop running. Where is he?

He shoots me a stern yet urgent glare. I know it is stupid to stop, but I am not even aware of any danger besides Uriah being out of sight.

"TOBIAS"

"WE don't have time for this Tris. Just RUN. NOW!" He snaps, but I recognize the outburst is masking his fear. Real fear. This registers just as he is about to throw me onto his back. I recoil and begin to sprint away from our shelter and into the night. I hold back anger and tears, and convince myself that Uriah just had a bigger lead on Cara and Zeke. He is faster. Everyone is okay.

**But even I can't convince myself any of this is true, so I focus on the run. **


End file.
